


teenage dirtbag

by written_you_down



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Fluff, I accidentally invented a sad American public school Hogwarts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25570798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/written_you_down/pseuds/written_you_down
Summary: Kyle is practically perfect, Dan is not.
Relationships: Kyle Simmons/Dan Smith
Comments: 13
Kudos: 25





	teenage dirtbag

Kyle Simmons was fairly brilliant at everything— his best mate, Dan Smith, was decidedly less so. They’d grown up together, Kyle picking up new skills and discovering talents like a child on an Easter Egg hunt, Dan searching, struggling and never quite finding what he was looking for. 

Dan had sixteen years worth of experience of watching Kyle excel. They lived next door to one another, the windows to their rooms faced one another. They shared hoodies, homework and scores of things in between. They had always been best friends and neither could see a day when that would fail to be true. 

—

When they were six years old, Kyle had learned to ride a bicycle without falling off of it even once. By the time they were ten, Dan had demolished three bikes. Predictably, his parents refused to buy him another one. 

“Of course, the important thing is that you’re safe,” his mum had said, before she sighed. “But really, Dan. I know you’re not doing it on purpose, but how did you manage to have the bicycle run over by two different vehicles? Did you shove it into oncoming traffic once you had fallen off?”

It had taken Dan ages to save enough pocket money to purchase the piece of crap bike that currently sat collecting dust in his parent’s garage.

—

By the time they were thirteen, Kyle and Dan had taken piano lessons for years. Their teacher, Ms. Alice, lived down their street and taught them both on Tuesdays — Dan for the first hour and Kyle for the next. There was often an overlap between their sessions, so each knew the extent of the other’s talent. Dan was, in fact, quite good at piano, but only with hours of practice. While Kyle certainly not a child prodigy, it seemed to come more naturally than it did to Dan. Often Dan would stay late after his lesson, gathering up the contents of his backpack, and listen to Kyle play. Kyle glided through his lessons with ease and rarely had issues with the weekly pieces that Ms. Alice assigned them. 

Dan was fine with it, really he was. 

It was only when their voices started to change that he actually envied Kyle. Kyle’s voice seemed to deepen and adjust overnight. It was glaringly obvious the week Ms Alice asked them to sing a verse over the song they were playing. Dan struggled through and was grateful that she was the only witness to his terrible vocal performance. As always, she was kind and downplayed the entire thing. 

“These things take time, Daniel. Your voice will settle into its form soon enough.” 

All of that was good and well, but Dan practically sprinted out of the room in escape as quickly as he could. He ran straight into Kyle who stood in the hallway just outside the door.

“Christ,” Dan squeaked. “Did you hear any of that?” He watched as Kyle searched for an answer and Dan knew that Kyle was about to lie to make him feel better. 

“Um. Your scales sounded a lot better this week! Have, have you been practicing more?” Kyle actually reached over to pat Dan on the back. It was this act of kindness that made Dan realize what an utter disaster his voice truly was.

“Kyle. I know you heard me effin’ destroy that song.”

“‘Destroy’ is a strong word.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “I sounded like a cross between a goat and a goose. Both options sort of suck.” 

Kyle shook his head as he passed Dan to meet with Ms. Alice. Dan had his hand on the doorknob when he heard Kyle start singing in a deep voice as if he were Barry-Mother-Effin’-White or the like. Dan could only laugh at the comparison between himself and Kyle. He walked out before he could hear Ms. Alice fall all over herself in praise.

—

When they were fourteen, Dan was well obsessed with building his record collection. One Saturday afternoon, he and Kyle were walking home after a successful dive into the used vinyl bin at a local second-hand record shop.

“I’ve been looking for the Yellow Submarine, Eleanor Rigby single for ages,” Dan said for the umpteenth time that day. He examined the record as they strolled. “Lucky it’s only scratched on one side, I can still play the other.” He glanced over at Kyle and found that Kyle had stopped a few paces back. He was staring up and into a tree. 

“Do you hear that?” Kyle asked, still looking up. Dan wandered over and stood next to him. “I think there’s a cat up there.”

“In the tree? Does that even happen in real life? I thought it was just to give fire fighters something else to do in films or whatever.”

Kyle squinted and saw a flash of fur several branches up. A second later, the movement was followed by a plaintive meow. He turned his head towards Dan. “I knew it! I bet it’s stuck up there.”

“Well. Are we supposed to—“ Dan paused as he watched Kyle reach up, grab the lowest branch and begin to climb the tree. Of course Kyle was going to rescue a cat. Of course. 

Kyle scaled the tree as if he were some sort of lumberjack. A lumberjack who woke each morning, ate a stack of pancakes and then strode into the woods to do an honest day’s work. Within minutes, Kyle was level with the animal and cooing at it. “Oh you’re just a baby. Dan! It’s a kitten.” Ok, so Kyle was a lumberjack with a weakness for kittens. Still hero status, if you asked Dan. 

Kyle’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Oi, Dan. Toss me your shirt. I need something to put him in.”

“What,” Dan groaned. “Why does it have to be _my_ shirt?”

“Because you’re wearing two of them. Besides, it’s for a good cause…. It’s a kitten. A kit-ten. Come on, you lump.”

Dan sighed as he placed his record on the ground. He took off his shirt, leaving him in a ratty t-shirt. He chucked his long sleeved plaid shirt up in the air. The three of them watched as it hardly went anywhere at all before promptly falling back onto the dirt. The kitten looked down at Dan and slowly blinked it’s yellow eyes at Dan’s total lack of athleticism. Kyle broke the silence first. 

“Right. Again. But like you mean it this time. Ball it up first.”

Grumbling, Dan wadded his favorite shirt into a ball. He swore he could see the kitten continuing to eye him with judgement. Dan’s next attempt was close enough to Kyle that he easily reached out and grabbed the shirt. Dan waited and watched Kyle slowly climb back down the tree, steadily speaking in soothing tones to the kitten as he did. “That’s it, little Ringo, I’ve got you. Don’t be scared.” Dan could hear the kitten’s purrs as Kyle’s feet gently hit the ground. He held out the bundle of shirt-kitten to Dan. “Here, hold him. He’s such a good boy.”

“I really don’t think—“ Dan began, but stopped as Kyle put the kitten wrapped in his shirt directly in his arms. Dan had to admit that it _was_ pretty cute and was about to say as much when it suddenly hissed and clawed its way down Dan’s body. Dan yelped in pain, “Mother-of-fu-“ 

The kitten didn’t give him a second glance, instead it brushed up against Kyle’s ankles, waiting to be picked up again. Kyle bent down and lightly placed the animal in his hands. “I hope I can keep him, if he doesn’t already have a home. Do you think I can talk my mum into it?”

Dan wanted to say no, but he knew the truth was yes. There was no chance that the kitten already had a home, it had clearly been cast out from somewhere. This little demonic cat was going to be his new neighbor. He scooped his discarded shirt off of the ground and picked up his vinyl. “I’m sure she will, Kyle. Let’s go.”

As they walked, Kyle continued to pet the kitten. “I wish you wouldn’t glare at him like that. You two are going to be best mates, you’ll see.”

Dan snorted. “Do you mean me or furry Ringo there?”

“The both of you,” Kyle laughed.

—

By the time they were fifteen, Kyle was starting on the school’s basketball team. Though he was on the court almost every minute of each game, Kyle would downplay his abilities when asked about them. Even Dan, who knew fuck all about sports, knew that his friend was talented. Dan had been there for most of Kyle’s games and could attest to the fact that Kyle was, more often than not, the best player on their team. 

On this particular night, it was late and Dan had just gotten home from watching one of Kyle’s games. The matchup was against one of their school’s biggest rivals. Dan was skeptical that schools could have actual rivals— the whole concept was straight out of a High School Musical but he knew it was a big deal. The score was close most of the game. Kyle was playing on another level; every shot he attempted seemed to sink through the hoop effortlessly. It was all squeaky shoes on hardwood floors, cheering crowds and net swishes, most definitely not Dan’s first choice of activity on a Friday night. It was too rah-rah-smells-like-teen-spirit for his taste, but it mattered to Kyle, so it mattered to Dan. Besides, Kyle had promised to come over for a movie and crash at Dan’s house after the game.

Dan glanced up as Kyle entered his room, hair wet and wearing a hoodie with his team’s logo prominently displayed. “Hey, sport,” Dan smirked. “Good game.”

“Fuck off,” Kyle replied good-naturedly and he dropped to the floor next to Dan. He scooted so that his back was against the base of Dan’s bed, which faced the television.

Dan lightly elbowed Kyle’s ribs and said, “I was mostly being serious. You were wicked out there.”

Kyle shrugged. “Lucky shots.”

“Oh bullshit. That other team….” Dan paused as he searched for the correct terminology. “… never stood a chance with you shooting the ball like that.” 

“I could listen to you talk sports all night.” Kyle raised an eyebrow in amusement. “But since we’re being serious… thanks for coming to the game. I know it sort of makes you die on the inside to do stuff like that.” 

“Which is why we’re watching Heathers tonight so you can see the darker side of school spirit.” Dan reached across Kyle to grab a bag of Wotsits. “But look, I got your favorite. Because I’m such a good mate.” He opened the bag and grabbed a handful before handing it to Kyle.

“Ok. So your mum bought these. But that’s fine because I already know that she loves me the best.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Well, who doesn’t love you the best? You’re just fucking peeeerfect, aren’t you?”

Kyle had just shoveled a ton of Wotsits into his mouth and struggled not to spit them out as he laughed. His face was lightly covered in cheese dust and he glanced sideways at Dan. “Don’t worry, Danny. This fucking perfect person loves you the best of all.” 

Dan saluted the comment by raising a middle finger. “You’ve got junk all over your face, by the way. I wouldn’t look so smug.”

“Smug? Pfft. It’s just how my face looks. I can’t help that.” Kyle slumped further down against the bed and then leaned lightly on Dan. “Start the movie already. Can’t wait to see Christian Slater take on these preppies.”

Dan obliged and soon the room was silent, but for the sounds of the movie and of them, crunching on Wotsits. As far as he was concerned, there was no better way to spend a Friday night than this. 

—

The next morning, Kyle was still asleep in Dan’s room on the pullout bed that for all intents and purposes belonged to him. Aside from the holidays, when Dan’s cousin was in town, the bed was frequently occupied by Kyle. On those rare occasions that typically only occurred at the end of the year, Dan’s mum would remind him to “make sure Kyle’s bed was ready for cousin Oliver,” which always made for an interesting visual in Dan’s head.

While Kyle slept on and recharged from the night before, Dan was downstairs in the kitchen with his dad. Dan listened as his dad read aloud from the sports page of their newspaper. “Listen to this, Dan…. ‘Simmons led all scorers with 37 points, hitting the game winning shot as time expired. Simmons is quick to give credit to his teammate, Barnes, for passing him the ball as time wound down. “It’s only because Charlie found a way to make the pass that he did, that we were able to win this game,” says Simmons, as his teammates slap his back cheerfully in celebration.’”

Dan nodded as his dad finished reading. “I was there. It was a great shot from Kyle. I doubt anyone else could have made it.”

His dad grinned as he pictured it. “That Kyle. He’s something else.”

Dan thought of Kyle, with food all over his face, laughing at dark comedy movies from the ‘80s and quietly agreed with his dad’s assessment.

—

By the time they were sixteen, Dan had somehow become one of _those_ people. He was a theater kid. It was bad enough he was still taking piano lessons (though that was mostly to please his mum) but now he was devoting entire afternoons to rehearsals. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he had somehow found himself in a lighting booth with a switchboard in front of him. 

He was content running the lights for the school’s drama department… well, as content as one could possibly be given that it had the unfortunate side effect of repeated viewings of musicals. The dramas, the comedies, those he could stomach well enough. However, he instantly regretted agreeing to run the boards for Oklahoma the moment the play’s lead, Will, opened his mouth and began extolling the morning and all it’s beauty. Dan had never hated mornings as he now did. Mornings were not beautiful. They were bloody early and often very, very rainy. Nonetheless Dan now woke each day with that god-awful song stuck in his head. 

Dan had almost reached a point where he could ignore the music and go someplace else in his head when Will sang during rehearsals. Dan was in survival mode. He could outlast this — Rodgers and Hammerstein would not be the death of him. It was manageable and he was getting by just fine until they had two weeks left before opening night. It was then that Woody, the technical director, came down with mono and had to drop out of the show. Against his better judgement, Dan had agreed to take Woody’s place. 

The announcement was made at the end of a dress rehearsal and Will immediately sauntered up to Dan. “So you’ll be in charge of my wardrobe, props, sets and making sure that I have proper lighting for the performance?”

Dan blinked at him, at a loss for words. “Um…”

He sighed. “I’m Will. I play Curly, the lead—”

“Right,” Dan cut in. “I’ve actually been here the entire time.” He turned and pointed at the lighting booth. “I’ve been running lights for all the rehearsals.”

Will eyed him in disbelief. “No. I don’t think so.” 

Dan wasn’t sure if he should be amused or offended and settled on a mixture of both. He was searching for an adequate response when Will glanced over his shoulder at the door. “Is that Kyle Simmons?”

Dan turned and found Kyle across the room, leaning against the wall, waiting for him. Kyle grinned and gave a single wave as their gazes met. Dan held up his index finger, indicating that he needed a moment longer. Kyle nodded and got his mobile out, settling in for a wait. Dan looked back to face Will.

“ _You_ know Kyle?” Will asked in shock. Dan had to hand it to Will for finding his niche so early in life; this guy was easily the most dramatic person he had ever met. 

“Yes. I know Kyle. And yes. I’ll be attempting to handle the technical parts of this show. There’s really no need to worry. The others in the crew have done loads of shows. I’ll try not muck up the rest of it.” Dan gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. 

Will was silent for a beat. “How do you know Kyle?”

Dan wrinkled his forehead and let out a huff of exasperation. “Did you not hear anything I just said?” Will shrugged, still waiting on the answer to his most pressing question. “Kyle’s my best mate. We’ve lived next door to each other for years.”

Will considered the answer and seemed to arrive at some sort of conclusion. “Ah. That explains it.” 

“Sorry, that explains wha—“

“Well. I’ll need your number so I can be in touch. I have some thoughts about the show.” Will reached into his messenger bag that he wore across his chest and pulled out his mobile. Dan sighed and gave Will his phone number. “Also, if you could possibly introduce me to Kyle at some point, I’d really appreciate it.” 

Will genially patted Dan on the back and walked away, calling out as he left, “Thanks, Stan.”

Dan watched as Will practically flung open the auditorium’s double doors and made his exit. Christ. These next two weeks were going to the be the longest of his life. He grabbed his backpack and made his way over to Kyle who looked up with amusement.

“Did he just call you Stan?”

“So it would seem,” Dan muttered. He glanced at Kyle as they walked outside of the building. “Will’s completely mental.”

“It isn’t that you have some sort of secret identity that you only use when you’re in the theater?” Kyle elbowed Dan as they moved.

Dan lightly shoved back. “Definitely not. Besides, I would pick a much cooler name. What sort of double life would I have as someone fucking named Stan…”

“Can I start calling you St—“

“No.” Dan shook his head emphatically. “Get that right out of your brain.” Dan placed a small kick at rock that was laying in their path as he remembered the way Will had fawned over Kyle. “I think Will fancies you. He had loads of questions about you and wanted me to set up an introduction.”

Kyle went into the grass to retrieve the same rock and booted it further up their path. “I’d much rather hang out with you backstage than be around the divas on the stage.” Kyle smiled sweetly at Dan, threw his arm around Dan’s neck, pulled him close and then added, “Staaaaan.”

Dan let himself be roped in by Kyle, but was quick to retort, “I’ve never hated you more than I do right now.”

“You lie. Everyone knows you like me most of all.” 

Dan wondered if others really did know how he felt about Kyle. When everyone seemed to be in love with your best friend, it was easy to hide in the crowd. At least it had always seemed that way. “Fine,” he conceded in a dry tone. “I like you best of all. Happy?”

“Thrilled.” Kyle grinned and dropped his arm to Dan’s side for a quick hug, a gesture he did so often that it seemed second nature. Dan didn’t spend any time picking it to pieces as Kyle pulled away. 

Instead he asked, “Are you still coming over for dinner?”

“Well, yeah. It’s risotto night, innit? Otherwise known as ‘smiley faces of great nutritional value night’ in my house. My mum is probably getting the smiley faces out of the freezer as we speak.”

Dan grinned as he pictured Mrs Simmons proudly sliding them onto every plate on the table. “Nothing wrong with those smiley faces, Kyle. My mum would never let us have them.”

“You’ve always loved those things. Even when we were little kids.” Kyle skipped to step in front of Dan, then turned to face him as he walked backwards. Dan had no doubt that if he attempted to do that, he’d trip on a root, or a crack in the sidewalk or his own feet. But Kyle moved easily.

Dan shrugged. “I guess some things never change.” 

—

Just as Dan had feared, the next two weeks were a nightmare. Between the endless rehearsals and Will’s constant texting over ways to improve his costume, his props, his presence, (Will’s words) Dan could hardly get a night’s sleep without dreaming of cowboys, farmers and the women who loved them. It was enough to drive anyone mad. 

Opening night had finally arrived and Dan was rushing around his home, determined to be on time for once. It had only taken him a moment to get ready and dressed —everyone who worked backstage was required to wear black for performances which already made up the bulk of Dan’s wardrobe. But he was searching high and low for a stupid bandana that Will had insisted on Dan laundering and ironing even though Dan wasn’t in charge of props and even though the fucking thing wouldn’t even appear on stage. 

“But what if I should need to wipe my brow?” Will had persisted.

“Even so, you’re a cowboy. Your bandana would be dirty and wrinkled from use,” Dan argued.

Will looked affronted. “I’m not that sort of cowboy.”

In the end, Dan had only agreed to take it home with him to shut Will up. Dan’s mum, sensing that he was about to lose it, offered to take care of it for him, but now he couldn’t find the damn thing anywhere. “Muuummm! Where did you put Will’s stupid bandana?”

He heard her reply from the kitchen. “It’s in your room! You’re welcome!”

Dan took the stairs two at a time and yelled “Thank you!” as he went. Just as his mum had stated, the cause of his trouble was neatly folded and on his desk. He went to grab it and go, but something made him glance out of his window. He saw that Kyle was hurriedly moving about his own room. Dan studied Kyle who was too busy to notice Dan’s presence. Dan stared as he took in Kyle’s appearance. He looked really nice, as if he had put some thought into what he was wearing. He was dressed up as if he was going out. Dan watched as Kyle lifted a small bouquet of flowers from his own desk before disappearing from view. 

Dan felt his heart sink. Kyle obviously had a date. Judging from the flowers, he had a date with someone he cared about. Dan hadn’t even realized that Kyle was interested in anyone. And it was dumb, so fucking dumb, but he felt a bit betrayed. Why wouldn’t Kyle have told him? They told each other everything. Dan tried to ignore the small voice in his head that reminded him of the one thing that he had never shared with Kyle…. that actually, no, Dan hadn’t exactly told Kyle _everything_ had he?

Still. Kyle had a date on the opening night of Dan’s play? Dan didn’t know if he had specifically asked Kyle to come to opening night, but then he had never asked him to before and he had always come. Dan went to Kyle’s games. Kyle came to see Dan’s awful plays. They showed up for each other. It was what they did.

Dan had never considered that a day would come when they just stopped doing that and now that he was facing it, it felt like a gut punch. It physically hurt. He was struggling to keep it together when he noticed that Kyle’s cat had wandered into Kyle’s room. Dan watched as Ringo leapt up and paced delicately at the windowsill. Ringo’s yellow eyes appraised Dan and then the cat turned his back to him, giving Dan a prolonged view of it’s rump. Fantastic. Even the fucking cat was giving him the middle finger. Dan sort of hated this day. 

He snatched up the bandana and stormed out of his room. 

—

Dan ran the show on autopilot, thankful to be sitting in the dark in his lighting booth where no could see him or talk to him. The show ran smoothly enough, the crowd was overly generous as they rose to their feet to applaud the curtain call. He turned the house lights on and heard the sound of voices raising and talking after hours of silence. 

Dan looked at the crowd and was surprised to see Kyle, still smartly dressed in his buttoned up shirt and black jeans. Kyle weaved around the bodies of people and found his way to Dan. He immediately pulled Dan into a hug as soon as he was in reach. “I’ve never seen a more nuanced lighting design of Oklahoma than this one.” 

Dan let out a croak of laughter right in Kyle’s ear. “Oh, fuck off.” 

“I will certainly not.” Kyle said, straightening. “It was inspired.”

Dan was pleased. He couldn’t believe that Kyle was there. “Are you alone? I thought maybe you had a date tonight.”

Kyle frowned. “What? I’m here by myself. Didn’t you see me sitting with your parents? Why would you—“

“I, um. Well, I saw you through the windows just before I left. You were dressed up and… had flowers so I thought…,” Dan trailed off and felt his ears grow warm. “I know that sounds fucking creepy, but…”

Dan glanced over to his left as he heard a voice shout out his name. One of the crew members gestured at him to come backstage. “I have to go, they seem to need me. Which means someone probably broke something.” He started to move past Kyle, but paused when Kyle placed a hand on his arm.

“Text me when you’re home. I’m coming over,” Kyle said.

Dan met his eyes briefly and nodded. Kyle watched him walk away, his mind trying to make sense of Dan’s words. 

—

Dan paced around his room as he waited for Kyle. He had just gotten home, left the door unlocked for Kyle, and texted him as requested. It seemed overeager and all kinds of desperate to wait for him at the door. It wasn’t long before he recognized Kyle’s careful tread on the staircase. Kyle entered the room carrying the same bouquet of flowers Dan had seen earlier. 

“Wh, Wha—“ Dan stammered.

“I got them for you.” 

Dan stared at him in surprise. He couldn’t place the expression on Kyle’s face, Dan wasn’t sure he had ever seen it before. Kyle seemed nervous, maybe. But Kyle was never nervous, at least not visibly. He was Kyle, he had always seemed invincible. “I don’t understand.”

“Flowers are customary for opening nights, right? I know how much work you put into this and I…I wanted to, I don’t know… celebrate the occasion?” Kyle handed the bouquet to Dan, who accepted them as if he had never seen flowers before. “I didn’t bring them to the show because I thought it might be weird to do it there. But I don’t know….I hope that it isn’t weird that I got them…”

“Not weird,” Dan said. “It’s just a lot to process. I fully thought you were secretly in love with someone this whole time, didn’t want to tell me for whatever reason and that… that these were for them.” He watched as Kyle honest-to-god blushed.

“Shit. That’s sort of true.” 

Dan blinked and looked down at the ground, his head spinning. He was listening to Kyle, but none of it made sense. Dan felt like some sort of rejected pageant girl, standing there holding flowers and wondering who Kyle loved. It was ridiculous and pathetic. “Who is it?” he managed. 

Dan heard Kyle heave a sigh and felt Kyle take the flowers from him. Kyle placed the bouquet on Dan’s desk and moved so he was standing in front of Dan. 

“You, Dan. It’s you.”

Dan jerked his chin up and his voice cracked as it used to when he was thirteen. “Really?”

Kyle smiled. “Really.” Dan watched as Kyle took a deep breath as if he was preparing for a speech. It suddenly struck Dan that Kyle truly was nervous. Kyle was going out on a limb to reach Dan just as he had with that terrible, terrible cat when he rescued it years ago. Kyle opened his mouth to speak, to convince Dan that he was worth having, but Dan found he didn’t need to hear it. He already knew who Kyle was. Dan took the single step that separated them and pressed his lips to Kyle’s. 

Dan felt Kyle smile against him and it made him understand all the cheesy songs from all those stupid musicals. Kyle brought his hands up, cupped Dan’s face, and kissed him back. And yes, Dan’s dumb stupid heart was pounding out a beat to his own musical number now and he didn’t give one solitary fuck about it. He would gladly break into his own choreographed dance number if it meant he could keep kissing Kyle.

Kyle pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against Dan’s. Dan found his voice and asked, “You’re sure about this? You could be with anyone you wanted, everyone really does like you the best.”

Kyle bumped his nose against Dan’s and then moved his mouth to the side of Dan’s head. “You give me way too much credit.” He pressed his lips to top of Dan’s ear and said “Besides, I’ve always liked you the best.”

Dan closed his eyes momentarily under all of the attention and when he opened them saw that he had a direct view into Kyle’s room. A familiar yellow glare was radiating from Ringo as he stared Dan down. Dan smirked and raised his middle fingers to salute his nemesis. Kyle felt the movement behind his back and shook his head as he figured it out. “Seriously?”

“What?” Dan asked, all innocence. “He started it.”

“He’s a cat.”

Dan tilted his head. “Is he though?”

“I guess it’s like you said the other day. Some things never change, do they?”

Dan pulled Kyle closer. “Well. Sometimes they do…” He watched as Kyle grinned before leaning in to kiss Dan again. 

Yes. Dan thought happily. Sometimes things change for the better. 

__

The next morning Kyle awoke to hear an overly cheery song being hummed nearby. He rolled to his side and realized the tune was coming from Dan. Kyle kept his eyes closed and listened as Dan started singing softly almost as if he was unaware he was doing it. Dan sounded good. No, Kyle thought. Dan sounded _great_. He remained silent as Dan went through the first verse and the chorus. It was then that Kyle propped up on his elbows and said “Right, so don’t freak out. I know how you get when people give you compliments. But…”

Dan froze like an animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle and blinked at Kyle. 

Kyle, long used to that particular reaction from Dan, continued, “You can sing! Like, really fucking sing. Like, you sound better than anyone else did on that stage last night.” 

“No, I—“ Dan began. 

Kyle laughed. “You’re not going to talk me out of it. I heard you just now. You were singing that wretched song from the play… the one about beautiful mornings. You sounded brilliant.” 

“You… you really think so?” 

“I do,” Kyle nodded. “But we’ve got to find you some better music. You’re always going on about how you hate that song.” 

Dan grinned. “True. But this is a pretty good morning, yeah?” 

And well, Kyle certainly couldn’t argue with that. 

**Author's Note:**

> -written for the AU_gust_2020 challenge. I planned to do this as a one shot story, but maybe there's more to say about these two. 
> 
> -more AUs to come over the next month. 
> 
> -my apologies for how very American this is. 
> 
> -endless amounts of thank yous to [willIever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/willIever/pseuds/willIever) for all of her help with this one. The Easter Egg line is hers. Literally.


End file.
